New Entrepreneurial Narratives in Urban West Africa: Case Studies of Five Innovation Hubs and Communities

Abstract

AbstractYouth-led innovation communities and networks are reshaping Western Africa’s technology and entrepreneurial ecosystems in major African cities such as Abidjan, Accra, Bamako, Dakar, Lagos and Ouagadougou. Members of these innovation communities are holding the pen and they are writing new urban and rural community narratives across the region. This chapter gives voice to five West African innovation hubs and communities. It presents their social mission using the lenses of the founders. It builds upon prior mapping of African technology hubs (or tech hubs) and draws insights from a series of interviews and conversations mainly held in 2019. The case studies also shed some light on technology diffusion and commercialization within the innovation hubs and associated communities.